Aircraft and other vehicles often include heat shields positioned near engines to shield other components of the aircraft from heat from the engines. Said heat shields typically are constructed from one or more panels (e.g., composite, metallic, and/or ceramic panels) that are joined together. Exhaust from the engine heats up these heat shields, which in turn causes thermal expansion of the panels of the heat shield. When panels that are joined together thermally expand at different rates (e.g., due to contoured shapes of the panels, locations of the panels relative to the engines, etc.), undesirable buckling may be observed in one or more of the panels. For example, typical heat shields may include a first panel riveted to a second panel. When the second panel thermally expands relative to the first panel, buckling results, as the panels are typically riveted together such that the panels are constrained on all sides. Furthermore, such buckling may cause stress at the joints, may decrease fatigue life of the heat shield, and/or may potentially cause crack initiation along the panels of the heat shield.